An arts entertainment licence is issued to those who wish to hold an arts event at a place accessible to the public.

Under the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act, you need to apply for a licence for any form of arts entertainment which includes plays, music, dance, exhibitions, variety shows and pop/rock concerts at a place accessible to the public.

The arts entertainment licence may be applied online via the Media Development Authority (MDA) website, under the Resources/Forms section.

The PE licence comes under the purview of the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit (PELU) of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and is issued to nightspots such as pubs and lounges, amusement centres, computer games centres, amusement parks, billiard saloons, or events such as talks and seminars.

The AE licence is issued to ad hoc events such as plays, exhibitions, dance and musical performances, pop/rock concerts and karaoke singing events.

For more information and for more licensing-related FAQs, please refer to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) website as well as the Media Development Authority (MDA) website.

Yes, an ad hoc public entertainment licence from PELU is required for post-performance forums. This can be applied online via the Police Licensing Computerised System (PLUS) on the Singapore Police Force (SPF) website.

For more information and for more licensing-related FAQs, please refer to the SPF website as well as the Media Development Authority (MDA) website.

Copyright protects works like novels, computer programs, plays, sheet music and
paintings. Generally, the author of a copyright work has the right to reproduce, publish,
perform, communicate and adapt his work. These different exclusive rights form the bundle of rights that we call copyright. These rights enable a copyright owner to control the commercial exploitation of his work.

Copyright is a form of property. It can be licensed or transferred, either as an entire bundle (all of the different rights under copyright) or as a distinct, individual right within the copyright bundle (e.g. only the right to reproduce).

For a work to be protected by copyright, it has to be original and expressed in a tangible form such as in a recording or in writing. Originality simply means that there is a degree of independent effort in the creation of the work. It is not a question of whether the work has creative merit or not.

For information on copyrights and royalties, please refer to the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS).